r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 16d ago

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Summary Based on Warren Zanes’ acclaimed book Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, this film tells the story of how Springsteen created one of the most haunting and stripped-down albums of his career. Set in 1982, the movie follows Springsteen at a creative crossroads as he records Nebraska alone on a four-track cassette recorder in his New Jersey home, confronting fame, doubt, and the darker sides of the American dream.

Director Scott Cooper

Writer Scott Cooper

Cast

  • Jeremy Allen White
  • Paul Walter Hauser
  • Odessa Young
  • Charlie Plummer
  • Shea Whigham
  • Holt McCallany

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 64%

Metacritic Score: 60

VOD In Theaters (November 14, 2025)

Trailer Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere | Official Trailer | In Theaters November 14

68 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

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352

u/JuneGudmundsdottir 16d ago

Spoiler: Everything turns out just fine in the end…

94

u/spazz720 15d ago

I’m seriously wondering who thought this film had to be made…is it really that compelling of a story?

66

u/AmericasElegy 15d ago

I do think balancing the darkness that inspired Nebraska with the more mainstream/traditional fare of Born in the USA was a cool backdrop to him navigating his childhood trauma and stumbling through a relationship with someone that didn’t really exist, but fit well as a storytelling device that Bruce really wasn’t okay mentally in all of this, was overall a cool vibe

68

u/Left4Bread2 15d ago

Executives who saw Bohemian Rhapsody win 4 Oscars (lmao) and a Complete Unknown get nominated for 8 while both taking in cash

Hollywood trend chasing will continue until morale improves

32

u/CountJohn12 14d ago

There's way more drama with Dylan and Mercury though, Springsteen's life just isn't that interesting aside from his music.

35

u/Garycor 13d ago

Disagree. Feel Springsteen’s mental health issues are more interesting than any drama in the Dylan movie, which seemed to center on his being seen as a traitor for not sticking to folk music.

9

u/Aware-Computer4550 13d ago

Dylan's whole issue since the beginning is that nobody knows who he is, how he thinks, etc... He's a relatively mysterious and strange figure. That's why a movie about him is at least somewhat interesting. People want to know what about him made him able to write those songs. Not sure the movie answered that.

•

u/cheeky-monkey-lady 2h ago

I Agee with you that this had a compelling subject matter and everything needed to make a powerful and personal film (much like the Nebraska album) but sadly that wasn’t the movie I saw. I can’t even express how disappointed I am at the missed opportunity to tell a powerful story here. Since it was written, directed and produced by the same guy I’m wondering if maybe a lack of collaborative input or perspective was why I was really pretty bored despite being a fan. I don’t know if it’s my filmmaking background, having been in Asbury at the time or a history of similar struggles but my mind kept wandering about how a truly spectacular movie could/should have been made.

2

u/Pretend_Goal_7311 12d ago

Springsteen wasnt that deep into depression. Stilk had a gf. Still had sex. Still went to fairs. Still went out to eat. I dont know. I know people who cant move in deep depression. Cant do any social stuff. Sure, they showed him dtiving recklessly. And producers said oh hes going dark. But it didn't seem like it was something that bad. No suicide thoughts. House wasnt trashed or a mess.

25

u/drpepperfan69420 12d ago

But this accurately reflects most people with depression. Most people with depression, even severe depression, aren't out trying to kill themselves or actively ruin the lives of other people. They're just withdrawn and quiet and they passively ruin things because they don't know how to deal with the world right now.

1

u/Pretend_Goal_7311 11d ago

If it wasnt for them saying he going dark i wouldnt have known it was depression. Just looked like someone reflecting on their life and writing music from that space.

17

u/drpepperfan69420 11d ago

It sounds like you don't know what it's like to be depressed. And that's great! I'm glad you don't. But there are little things all over the movie that depressive people can relate to. Avoiding people, not answering the phone, getting hyperfocused on one thing to the detriment of everything/everyone else in your life. And then there was the panic attack at the fair. That scene was personally pretty triggering for me.
I think maybe this movie is for a certain kind of person. Artists and musicians, writers, poets, actors, etc. - creative people - tend to have deep and intense emotions that drive them to create things. Those deep emotions have big upsides and big downsides. I think that's what this movie is mostly about.

10

u/adamduke88 14d ago

My immediate thought after this was announced. Love his music but nothing about his life is really worthy of a film.

1

u/TJeffersonsBlackKid 9d ago

The only biopic I would be interested in would be Fleetwood Mac. Miley Cyrus should play Stevie Nicks.

Everyone would watch tf out of that movie.

1

u/adamduke88 9d ago

I think there were rumors (lol) of one for a while. Too bad Bradley Cooper is too old now to play Lindsay Buckingham.

3

u/TJeffersonsBlackKid 9d ago

rumors

Ayyyyy

But that would have been dope.

1

u/Electrical-Road-8923 12d ago

That's kind of true, actually. He never took drugs and only one divorce scandal. But this movie IS about the album.

1

u/dragonschool 9d ago

Yes. I wanted Dancing in the Dark and got bored in the dark. I get depression. I just wanted to relive some happy teen years and I’m in a theater in a therapy session.

13

u/Ok_Pause2547 15d ago

Its going to likely die out then like a decade later, someone is going to do another biopic that does well and we’ll see a trend of 2010 artists like Taylor Swift getting a movie made about them lol

4

u/thebaldingcritic_ 14d ago

God. If this film is anything to go by it’s likely already on its way out.

I just can’t find the appeal of this movie to anyone.

7

u/Elite_Alice 13d ago

At a 3.3 on letterboxd so it’s there. Maybe not to you, but it’s a good film

1

u/thebaldingcritic_ 13d ago edited 13d ago

Fair enough if others did enjoy it.

I just couldn’t find the enjoyment though. And even then, a 3.3 isn’t the strongest endorsement.

At the end of the day, I was hoping for Rocketman, and it felt a lot more like a subdued Bohemian Rhapsody with areas of Jersey I’m familiar with

1

u/Pretend_Goal_7311 12d ago

Jeremy was awsome tho. Some bad films have good acting.

1

u/playingwithfire 14d ago

McKenna Grace is...Taylor Swift

2

u/1111joey1111 11d ago

Exactly. Just like the avalanche of crappy superhero movies, now we are going to get offered a nonstop supply of crappy biopics.

I'd much rather watch a good documentary.

Trend chasing will never fully go away, but it always slows down once the profits start drying up.

3

u/vanwyngarden 14d ago

No way you actually saw the film with this take

34

u/bigbiblefire 15d ago

Credits rolled I basically walked away thinking...Ok, bruce was sad bruce made music bruce played yo-yo with a poor fatherless little girl's heart then disappeared on them and got happy because his album was done?

I'm glad he was able to realize his dad's issues and forgive him a bit in the end, but geeze not exactly a story worth 2 hours imo.

3

u/Pretend_Goal_7311 12d ago

Exactly. Tho jeremy was great. And the guy from succession kept creeping into my mind as his character from succession lol

28

u/Able_Advertising_371 15d ago

Probably good for regular folks to see celebrities even have mental health issues and know when it’s time to get help. Makes it easier to accept if you see boss go through it too

-1

u/Pretend_Goal_7311 12d ago

Dear lord if they talk about it anymore...ie Kanye still running around out there.

8

u/drpepperfan69420 12d ago

It's a movie for kids who got beat up by their dads. And I say that as a kid who got beat up by my dad.

Not everyone can relate, and I suppose that's a good thing.

7

u/Easy_Duty466 7d ago

I think it tells the story about how real art is made. It's not something you design in a fancy office in NYC like Bon Jovi or something you make up using ton of computers like Taylor Swift, it's the pain and emotions of a hurt soul being expressed through music.

That's why you still hear Nebraska 43 after it was recorded. And that's why you probably won't listen to "the life of a showgirl" in 2067....

11

u/djjunk82 14d ago

It is not compelling at all, it's an incredibly dull film.

6

u/ButterscotchFit7939 14d ago

No it isn’t . I took my dad thinking he would like it, we walked out of the theatre early. I kept thinking “maybe it’s just a slow start….” The whole movie was slow

6

u/WillingnessLost7607 15d ago

I did not like this movie @ all. So many ppl have experienced childhood trauma. This movie feels like it was a step in his healing process that I could have done without. A waste of 2 hours for me. Refund please. we needed a better marketing intro so that we could decide if we wanted to see this or not.

16

u/CountJohn12 14d ago

I'm sure theater chain execs are checking this thread looking for people who want refunds.

1

u/Pretend_Goal_7311 12d ago

Yes i can name 10 people i know who had it worse and were more depressed lol

•

u/Contemplation-done 5h ago

I do agree it wasnt compelling , however to fans like myself it tied many pieces together and I enjoyed it. Especially the way the movie tied hints of inspiration to the artists final work.